


Open Arms

by spiritedaways



Category: NCT (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 03:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19737652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritedaways/pseuds/spiritedaways
Summary: The Love Club are your typical 'loser' kids with crushes on the popular kids. What could go wrong during the last quarter of high school?





	Open Arms

**Author's Note:**

> hiii~  
> here with your stereotypical nct/red velvet high school au  
> i actually really like this fic bc it's minimal angst and very sweet, hehe  
> ** disclaimer: i have nothing against the “bullies” mentioned, i actually adore them all!! i just needed names😂  
> pls do not repost my work anywhere at ALL!!!
> 
> [tenofnct](https://twitter.com/tenofnct/)

Doyoung changed the color of his braces from green to purple.

“Purple?” Kun questioned. “Hmm, cute.”

“You think so?” Doyoung asked nervously.

“Of course he thinks so, Kun _never_ lies.” Ten said with an eyeroll, picking his fork at whatever excuse of a school lunch this was. 

“I do lie, okay? I lie like.. all the time.” 

“Okay, prove it. Do you think Johnny Seo is hot?” 

Kun turned red. “Wh-what? N-no, he’s not hot. Not hot at _all_.”

“Wow, you really do suck at lying.” Joy called from the other end of the table.

“What are you doing here, Joy? Don’t you have Kang Seulgi to bother?” Ten teased.

“Shut the hell up! You should go bother a certain Lee Taeyong!” Joy said as she scooted her way over to join the trio. Ten was about to counter back before Doyoung interrupted. 

“Guys, enough.” Doyoung whisper-yelled. “We don’t want anyone to hear us, what if we get exposed?” 

“Exposed, Doyoung, really?” Ten called. 

“I’ve seen it happen! No one can know we have crushes on the hottest people in school.” Doyoung shoved a piece of sad looking lettuce into his mouth.

“He’s right, let’s drop it. Lunch is almost over anyway and we have to head to the front office to greet the new foreign exchange student. I heard he’s chinese as well.” Kun smiled.

“I forgot about that, c’mon, let’s go.” Joy gathered their lunch trays and dumped them in the trash on her way out. 

Doyoung couldn’t leave without stealing a glance at Jung Jaehyun, captain of the football team. He didn't realized how hard he was staring until said boy met his gaze. Doyoung squealed and dropped his books in heap. 

Joy sighed and trudged her way over to help him. “Staring at the captain again, are you Doyoung?”  
He turned red like a tomato. “Don’t worry, Seulgi always captures my eye too.” Joy adjusted Doyoung’s glasses correctly and helped him up. 

Doyoung thanked her softly and let her carry his books. Joy _was_ stronger after all. He didn’t dare look back at Jaehyun, who was burning holes into the back of his head.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
“Hey,” Jaehyun called once he saw Doyoung walk out the lunchroom. “What’s that kid’s name, again?”

“Who? Weirdo Park Sooyoung?” Yuta answered, but the term _weirdo_ caused Seulgi to scrunch her nose. “Or Nerdy Kim Doyoung?”  
The term _nerdy_ caused Jaehyun to feel a swell of anger wash over him.

“Him.” 

“Kim Doyoung is captain of battle of the books. That’s all I know.” Seulgi said. 

“Who else was with him?” Taeyong countered in.

“Qian Kun, the chinese exchange student, Ten—“ Seulgi continued before she was interrupted. 

“Ten? That’s his name?” Taeyong furrowed his brows.

“Well, that’s what everyone calls him. Ten is a member of the dance team.” She said. 

“No he isn’t?” Taeyong said confused. “I’m the captain and I don’t recall seeing him.” 

“You must be a really bad captain then, because he’s the one who helped you guys win that big trophy sitting in the show hall case two years ago.” Johnny snickered. 

“What?! No, no way. That guy was super lanky, had braces, and had red dyed hair.” 

“People change, y’know?” Seulgi said. “A summer can change many things.” 

“You’d know a lot about _that_ summer, wouldn’t you Seulgi?” Johnny teased his cousin.

“Shut the hell up! We don’t talk of summer.” 

“What? Why not? What happened over summer?” Jaehyun seemed confused.

“Nothing! Nothing happened.” She yelled.  
Before Jaehyun could reply, the bell rang. 

“Welp, I’m off to chemistry. See you losers, later!” Yuta said before dumping his food in the trash on the way out. Jaehyun sighed and swung his bag over his back. Off to Calculus, his worst subject. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Sicheng, or Winwin, as he preferred to be called only knew Mandarin. He knew some Korean, but was still lacking on grammar. He could understand well enough, though. 

“It’s okay if you struggle, Ten and I did too when we first arrived,” Kun consoled him. “We’re okay though because Joy and Doyoung helped us.” 

Winwin smiled. “Thank you. I hope I can make friends soon.” 

“We’re your friends now, silly!” Kun said happily. “Your next class is chemistry, we can show you where it is. After class, we can show you around the rest of the school. Do you wanna exchange numbers?”  
Winwin nodded and exchanged numbers with the four teens. 

They navigated him through all the main buildings and informed him of their clubs and programs. The bell rung overhead and Kun signaled Winwin off, who said he was confident enough to find the chemistry classroom on his own. 

“Okay, if you're sure. If you need help don’t be afraid to call.” Kun smiled and headed off to his next class with Joy, which was English. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Winwin made a huge mistake. He was completely and utterly lost. He knew he could dial Kun and ask, but he didn’t wanna bother the boy. 

Sucking in a breath, he had his head down looking at the school map.  
_This doesn’t make sense,_ Winwin thought. Not paying attention, he rounded a corner knocking into a broad body, causing him to fall to the floor.

“What the hell! Watch where you’re going fre—“ 

Winwin watched the boy he bumped into with wide eyes, as the boy just stared back, his mouth agape.  
“S-sorry.” Winwin stuttered out. 

“No, no, it was totally my fault.” The boy bent down to help him up.  
Winwin just blinked, not knowing how to reply.  
“I’m Yuta. What’s your name?” 

“I’m Winwin,” he replied. “I’m new here, from China. Can’t speak much Korean yet, sorry.” 

“Oh, I’m from Japan.” Yuta realized. “Oh, uhm..” Yuta used the small Mandarin skills he used to get across. “May I see your schedule?”  
Winwin smiled at his bad pronunciation, but it worked. He nodded and handed him his schedule.  
“Great! We share chemistry together. Let’s go.” Yuta offered his arm to Winwin, which he shyly took. This Yuta kid seems nice, Winwin thought. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
“Nakamoto Yuta?!” Ten yelled. “No, nononononononoooooooo. Stay away from him, stay away!” Ten shook Winwin by his shoulders. 

“Ten, calm down, you’re scaring him.” Kun said.

“As I should! Does he know whose group he’s part of? No? Go on, tell him. Tell him.” Ten stressed. 

Kun explained to Winwin with a sigh.

“Oh.” was all Winwin said.

“Yeah, _oh_. That group isn’t really mean,” Joy lied, trying not to scare Winwin. “but Nakamoto _is_ an asshole.” She said from her spot on Doyoung’s bed. 

“They aren’t that bad.” Doyoung said looking up from his Calculus homework. He pushed up his glasses with his index finger and watched his friends.

“Sure. But Nakamoto is a different breed, and don’t forget what Seulgi did to Joy that summer going into junior year. Lee Taeyong doesn’t even know I exist and Johnny Seo has met Kun once. Jung Jaehyun stares at you like you killed his dog, Doie.” Ten says. 

Doyoung went red. “Okay, yeah, but this is our senior year, and it’s almost over. Maybe.. maybe we could try to talk to them?” He suggested.

Shouts of disagreement rained from Ten and Joy.

“Okay, hush up!” Kun scolded. “Well, Joy and I have no choice.” Kun repeated what went down in Mandarin to Winwin, who just laughed at their pain. 

“What do you mean?” Winwin questioned. 

“We got paired with up with our _crushes_ to do a quarter long English project. What the hell kind of project takes the whole damn quarter?” Joy said angrily. She was glad it was their last quarter anyway, 3 more months until graduation. 

“What?!” Ten squealed. “Seulgi and Joy will be forced to talk again after so long, and Johnny will finally acknowledge you, Kun!”  
Doyoung smiled because he knew what Ten was saying was from the goodness of his heart. 

“This isn’t funny!” Kun stomped. “We have to go to their house this weekend to go over a plan for what we’re going to do.”  
Ten squealed some more and squished his two friends into a chokehold hug. 

“You guys, I am so happy for you! This is so exciting, and who knows? Maybe Lee Taeyong will finally know I exist.”  
Ten laughed at his joke, without knowing it’d soon become reality. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Ten wiped the sweat from his brow and chugged down his bottle of water. Dance practice just ended and he was ready to call Kun and ask him to bring him home. He was startled by a tap on his shoulder. What he didn’t expect was to be met with the Lee Taeyong. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly wiped the water running from the sides of his mouth with his hand. 

“Ten, right?” Taeyong asked. Ten couldn’t find his voice, so he settled for a nod. “You know the dance competition is coming up soon? End of the quarter?”  
He nodded again.  
“Well, I’m trying to recruit the best dancer for this years competition, and I want you.” 

Ten looked around in confusion.  
“M-me?” 

“Uh, yeah. Your dancing is amazing, really. I love your methods. Maybe you could teach me some moves, yeah? Wanna come over to my house this weekend?” 

_Don’t freak out, stay calm, be cool_. Ten repeated over in his head. 

“Uhm, okay, yeah, cool, totally, sure. Yeah,” he coughed awkwardly. 

“Great! Can I see your phone?”

“M-my phone?” 

“Yeah, so I can give you my number and text you my address.” Taeyong knew he could just write down his address and hand it toTen, but this was an excuse to get the boys number and he knew it. 

“O-okay.” Ten stuttered as he pulled out his phone and watched in amazement as Taeyong snapped a gorgeous selfies and typed in his number. 

“Here you go, just text me before Saturday so I can let my mom know! Nice meeting you Ten!” Taeyong said and was out the door.

“Y-you too.” Ten waved lamely. Taeyong was rather quick to leave, but Ten just thought he was in a rush.  
_What the hell just happened?_ Ten thought as he waited outside for Kun to arrive.  
He couldn’t wait to scream to the group chat. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Doyoung pouted. Why was everyone getting their fairytale dream, but him? 

“If it makes you feel any better, Yuta isn’t that bad. He offers me tutoring for my Korean.” Winwin said.  
Doyoung gave him a small smile and patted his head. He’ll admit, it seems to be working because Winwin’s Korean is great. 

“I didn’t think he knew me. It’s weird because he said dancer, not dancers. Maybe he got confused.” Ten said, puzzled.

“I’m happy for you.” Joy snuggled into Ten. “TxT in the works.” She giggled. 

Kun was on Doyoung’s bean bag munching on a bag of chips. 

“Are you okay?” Winwin asked him.

“Wh-what? Yeah, totally. Just thinking.” 

“Of?” Doyoung wanted him to elaborate. 

“English class. Ms. Rey made us switch seats with our partners.” Kun huffed out his nose. 

“Stuck next to Seulgi and I’m going to her house this weekend? A nightmare!” Joy screamed into Doyoung’s pillow. 

“At least we’re going together. If anything happens we can abort the mission together.” Joy smiled at Kun’s suggestion. 

“Speaking of, could you drive me to Taeyong’s house?” Ten butted in.

“Sure. Do you need a ride too, Winwin?” He was going to Yuta’s house this Saturday as well, to catch up on what he’s missed.

“Nah, Yuta’s picking me up. Thanks, though.”

“You better not fall for him, Winwin. You’re too adorable.” Ten sighed which caused a laugh to fall from Winwin’s mouth. 

“I gotta get going,” Joy stretched her body. “My mom is making me clean the entire house because we have some ‘VIP’ coming over, she just won’t tell me who.” 

The group got up and trudged down the stairs. 

“Good luck, Joy.” Doyoung called. “See you guys tomorrow!” Doyoung waved bye to his friends as they all piled into Kun’s car. He watched them until he made sure they were safely around the corner and out the blocked. 

Locking the front door, he made his way back to his room. His mom was working late at the hospital again, which means he could blast all the sad music he wanted.

Connecting his bluetooth speaker, he let Lana Del Rey’s sultry voice drown his thoughts. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It turns out those ‘VIP’, were Seulgi and her family.

“Mom, what?!” Joy screamed.  
Yeri, her younger sister, laughed manically from her place in the living room.  
“You brat, you knew about this!” Joy began to chase her sister around the house before her Mother stopped them from breaking her favorite vase.

“Girls, settle down. Joy, I’m sorry, but if I told you, I knew you would have made an excuse about being busy.”

“Well, yeah, Mom! This is unfair.” Joy pouted. Her mother just pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Stop acting like a child and go take a shower. They’ll be here soon. Yeri, go wash your dish. I know it was you who put it in there since you’re the only one who eats Froot Loops.” 

Joy groaned as if it was the end of the world and went into the bathroom to begin this nightmare.

She chose out a nice dress after she got out and did her hair and makeup. Soon after she was done, she heard the doorbell ring. It was now or never. 

“Sooyoung!” Of course her mother would use her real name. “Come say hello, the Kang’s are here.” 

Joy put on her best fake smile and made her way downstairs. Her breath was taken away as she saw Seulgi. _Gorgeous as ever._

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Kang, Seulgi. It’s very nice to see you.” 

“And, you as well Sooyoung. How have you been, it’s been a while since we’ve seen you come over.” Mrs. Kang smiled.  
She shifted her feet at that.

“Oh, I’ve been fine. Just.. busy with school and all.” She wasn’t completely lying.

“That’s good to hear! Whenever you’re free, you’re welcome to come over anytime at all!” Mrs. Kang said.

“Well, she's coming over this Saturday.” Seulgi said. Joy tried to cover her shock with a small smile.

“Sooyoung! You never told me anything about that.” Her mother said.

“Oh, haha,” she laughed awkwardly. “Must’ve slipped my mind.” She was lying, it was all she’d been thinking of since the project was assigned. 

“That’s exciting! Well, be sure to greet her with open arms, Seulgi.” Mr. Kang says.

“Don’t worry,” she said with a glint in her eyes. “I will.” 

“Now that we’re settled, how about some dinner?” Joy’s mom said happily. 

And of course, Seulgi just had to sit next to Joy. And brush her fingers over her own overtime Joy passed a dish to her. And let their knees slightly touch. 

Joy felt like she was about to explode. “May I be excused? I have to use the washroom.”

“Go ahead, sweetie.” Her mom smiled.

Joy rubbed her eyes upon entering the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She honestly felt like crying. This was all too much to handle. A knock rapped on the door.

“Yeri, go away!” The knocking continued. “Yeri, stop!” It didn’t stop. Joy groaned and reached for the door. “If you don’t stop being a brat, I’ll tell mom—oh.”  
It wasn’t Yeri, it was Seulgi.  
“Wh-what do you want?” Joy twitched.

“Are you okay? You looked like you were about to throw up.”

“Why do you care anyway, Kang?” Joy grimaced. “You didn’t seem to care much junior year.”

Seulgi sighed. “Look, I’m really, really, sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to push you away like that, I just—,” 

“Became captain of the cheer squad and pushed me away because I wasn’t deemed good enough by your friends on the team, right?”  
Seulgi averted her eyes downward.  
Joy scoffed. “Just like I thought. None of this will even matter at the end of the day, Seulgi. You hurt me. You hurt me a lot.” Joy whispered the last part. Seulgi felt her heart constrict at her words.

“Joy, I’m sorry. I truly am. I just didn’t wanna be seen—,” 

“With me, yeah I get it. Now let’s go. My mom is going to wonder where we went.” Joy shut off the bathroom light and rushed past Seulgi, back to the dining room. 

Seulgi stared at the spot where Joy was standing just a few seconds ago. _She was right,_ Seulgi thought. _I pushed away the person I cared for most, and for what? Popularity points?_  
Seulgi snapped out of her daze at the sound of Ms. Park’s voice calling her for dessert. She didn’t realize she’d been crying, so she quickly wiped her tears away and headed back to the dining room.

When she entered, she noticed Joy switched spots with Yeri, not wanting to be next to her anymore. And, honestly? Seulgi didn’t blame her. She didn’t blame her at all. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Joy told them about her disaster of a dinner over lunch the next day. 

Seulgi couldn’t stop staring at her, barely eating her food. 

“Hey,” Taeyong nudged her. “You alright?” 

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. Just.. thinking.” 

“Thinking of Weirdo Park Sooyoung?” Yuta laughed and bit into his apple.

“Don’t call her that.” Seulgi said defensively. “She isn’t a weirdo, and even if she was it wouldn’t matter. She’s cool.” 

Johnny whistled. “Wow, change of heart after that dinner last night, huh, cousin?” 

“Dinner? What dinner?” Jaehyun asked. 

“Last night, she attended a dinner at the Park’s house. Seemed like it didn’t go well for little Miss Seulgi became she came home crying.” 

“Shut up, Johnny. As if you aren’t screaming into your pillow over Qian Kun.” 

“You weren’t supposed to tell anyone about that.” Johnny cried.

“Too bad, so sad.”

“Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, Qian Kun? That chinese exchange student?” Yuta asked and Johnny nodded. “Him? He’s so annoying, Johnny.” 

“You think I don’t know that? I wish I didn’t like him.” Johnny scoffed, but he knew he was lying. He adored the boy and wanted to run his fingers over the two beauty marks by his eyebrow. 

“Why do you guys even care about all that stuff?” Seulgi was met with silence.  
“None.. none of this stuff will even matter when we graduate because we care so much about what other people think, when it doesn’t even matter. None of these norms matter and we base so much on it. I lost Joy because of it, and I regret it. I cared for her and I let her go because the cheer squad said to. That’s the reason why you’re inviting Ten over to your house on Saturday, right Taeyong? Because you don’t wanna be seen with him in public. Because you care so much about your status. And you, Johnny. When Kun suggested to go to Starbucks to work on the project, you shot him down because Lee Minho works in there. But you know what I realized? You remember Hirai Momo, member of the fashion club? She’s dating the captain of the science club, Sana Minatozaki. She doesn’t sit with us anymore because.. because we’re assholes. We make people feel bad about themselves and for what? Fun and games? Whatever.” Seulgi wiped away her angry tears and threw her lunch out.  
“And by the way, Yuta. Your crush, Dong Sicheng, aka Winwin, is hanging out with that ‘annoying Qian Kun’. Who do you think helped him on his first day here and welcomed his with open arms? That’s right, the same people you call weirdos and nerds, Nakamoto.” 

Seulgi stormed out the lunch room, but she stopped at Joy’s table asking her something.  
The boys saw as Joy’s face turned into one of confusion, but she reluctantly took Seulgi’s hand and was whisked away. 

Yuta turned pale, but he took the time to watch Winwin laughing with the designated losers. He seemed.. happy. He didn’t know who his friends were and he never bothered to ask. He invited Winwin to sit with them at lunch, but the Chinese always refused, saying he was alright. Yuta could see that now. Smiling wide and throwing his head back at a joke Kim Doyoung told him. 

“She’s right, you know?” Taeyong was fiddling with his lunch plate. “I was quick to give Ten my number and leave because I was afraid Kim Mingyu would see me talking to him. Who even cares about what Mingyu thinks, anyway?” Taeyong shifted his gaze to Ten, who was happily munching on some Doritos, looking ethereal as the sunlight hit his face. 

The bell rang overhead and Taeyong was the first to leave, not even bidding them goodbye. The boys understood, they felt the same after all. 

Jaehyun sighed as he grabbed his backpack and made his way to Calculus. 

Once the late bell rang and everyone was settled in, Mr. Choi began to speak.

“Here are your tests back and let me say, I’m not satisfied with your results.” Jaehyun swore he saw Mr. Choi’s eyes land on him when he said that.  
“However, I am satisfied with someone. Kim Doyoung, congrats on getting a 100%.” Mr. Choi handed the boy his test back with a lollipop taped to it.  
_Kim Doyoung?_ Jaehyun didn’t even know he was in this class.  
Jaehyun looked for said math whiz and felt his heart flutter as he saw the boy smile wide, his braces showing. 

“Nerd.” he heard Jeon Wonwoo say from behind him. Jaehyun felt sad as he saw Doyoung’s face fall. The boy quietly put his paper into his folder and unwrapped his lollipop, staying quiet instead of defending himself.

“Hey,” Jaehyun turned around to face Wonwoo. “Could you not say that?” 

“Why?” he scoffed. “What’s it to you?”

“It’s not what it is to him, Mr. Jeon,” Mr. Choi’s voice loomed overhead. “I think you should do yourself a favor and become a nerd yourself because you’re in dire need of it.” Mr. Choi said as he slapped down Wonwoo’s paper, painted with a large ‘F’ on it.

Jaehyun’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the letter ‘D-‘ on his own test.  
“Please, see me after class, Mr. Jung.” Mr. Choi said to him.

“Alright, class, let’s go over the test questions and see where you went wrong, save for Mr. Kim. You are free to work on whatever you’d like.” Mr. Choi directed to him only.

Jaehyun looked to Doyoung, who pulled out a book a began to read. It was called ‘A Darker Shade of Magic.’ Jaehyun might have to go to the library and check it out. 

The class seemed to drag and Jaehyun was excited when the bell rang, but he remembered he had to meet with Mr. Choi. The whole class seemed to depart, save for Doyoung who was still packing his things away very neatly. 

“Mr. Jung,” Mr. Choi said as Jaehyun made his way up to his desk. “As we all know, you’re captain of the football team, yes? Quite a great accomplishment, if I might say. However, as you know, in order to keep it that way you need to maintain your grades. I’m sorry to say this, but if you don’t get at least a B or higher on my next test, you will have to be kicked from the football team.”

“What?! Mr. Choi, please, there has to be a way to save my grade.” Jaehyun pleaded. 

“And there is. Oh, Doyoung,” Mr. Choi called. Doyoung was almost out the door before he stopped in his place.

“Yes, Mr. Choi?” Doyoung pushed up his glasses with his index finger. Jaehyun thought he looked adorable. 

“Could you come here for a second?” Doyoung made his way over, keeping his distance from Jaehyun.  
“Great, I was wondering if you’d be able to tutor Mr. Jung here.” 

“M-me?” Doyoung stuttered.

“Why, of course. You’re my best student, no one could do it better than you.” 

Doyoung didn’t want to let his teacher down. “O-okay, sure. Of course, I can do it.” 

“Fantastic! Why don’t you two get together and decide which days work best for you, yes? Thank you so much Doyoung and good luck, Mr. Jung.” 

“H-hi.” Doyoung said when they exited the classroom. The halls were empty.  
_Perfect for Jaehyun,_ Doyoung thought. _He wouldn’t wanna be seen with me anyway._

“Hi.” 

“S-so, um, did you want to meet during our free period? For the tutoring, I mean.” 

“Our free period is only an hour, isn’t that too short?”  
“W-well, y-yeah. I just thought it’d be best to do it in the library, y’know? No one really goes in there and I don’t wanna ruin your reputation.” Doyoung pushed up his glasses again. 

“My repu—,” Jaehyun stopped himself as he realized what Doyoung meant. This is what Seulgi was saying. Norms that would never matter.  
“Doyoung, I don’t care about all that stuff. How about we meet up at Barnes and Noble after school? They have free wifi.” 

Doyoung was shocked. Jung Jaehyun wanted to be seen in public with him?  
“Um, are you sure? We can meet up at one of our houses—,”

“Yes, Doyoung, I really want to go to Barnes and Noble with you, okay?” Doyoung nodded quickly. “Great, I’ll see you there. Bye, Doyoung.” 

Doyoung couldn’t wait to FaceTime the group chat. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
“What do you want?” Joy ripped her hand out of Seulgi’s as they stood by the lockers.

“I want to apologize.” 

“For what?”

“You know what for.” Before Joy could interrupt, Seulgi put her finger to Joy’s lips. “Let me speak. I’m sorry for pushing you away and I’m sorry for being such a terrible friend. You were right, I pushed you away because I cared too much about my status and what others would think of me if they saw me with you when none of that matters. It never mattered in the first place and I shouldn’t have let it get to me. I cared for you so much and that summer heading into junior year was the best summer of my life, Joy. I never felt more happiness than when I was with you, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. We haven’t talked for almost two years and it’s tearing me apart on the inside. I go to sleep every night and I think of you. I think of what would have happened if I just held onto you. The way I should have instead of letting you run free from me. I’m sorry, Sooyoung. I..I love you.” 

Seulgi let her hand down and watched as Joy let out a deep breath. 

“Well… it took you long enough.”  
Seulgi laughed and hugged her best friend. They both had tears running down their cheeks. 

“Just know I truly meant what I said. I’m sorry and I do love you.” Seulgi says as she pulls back.

“I love you, too. Can we kiss? We’re supposed to kiss now, right?” Joy laughed. 

Seulgi laughed between her tears. “Yes, we can kiss now.” 

Joy felt relief flood through her body as she finally kissed Seulgi after all these years. She felt content. She felt happy.

Seulgi thanked whatever force for brining Joy back to her. She knew she didn’t deserve it, but she was grateful Joy had enough room in her heart for everyone. Even the ones who pick at her. 

“Hey! No PDA on school grounds!” a teacher walking past said to the two. They jumped back and looked to each other. They laughed. They just laughed. Joy had to tell the group chat.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Johnny set his bag down on the floor as he watched Kun read over something in their textbook. He didn’t seem to notice Johnny until the elder tapped him on his shoulder.

“Oh, hi, Johnny. How are you?”  
Johnny internally cooed.  
“Is.. is something wrong?”  
Johnny realized he didn’t answer.

“Huh? N-no, nothing. I’ve just.. I’ve never seen you with glasses on.” 

“O-oh. I woke up late and had no time to put in my contacts. Do.. do they look bad?” Kun suddenly felt self conscious, reaching a hand to his face to take them off.  
“No, no,” Johnny pulled his wrist down. “I like them a lot. They look great. You look.. you look super cute, Kun.” 

“Oh,” Kun smiled softly and turned red. “T-thanks, Johnny.” Kun turned back to the textbook and continued to read.

Ms. Singh assigned the class to do workbook pages, so it was mostly quiet, save for a few chatters between friends. 

Johnny looked over his shoulder to see Joy and Seulgi shoulder to shoulder, smiling wide. Seulgi’s eyes met his and she smiled. He smiled back. He was happy for her. He knew Seulgi was always sad over Joy, never having the guts to approach her after so long. He’s glad she finally did. Now, he thinks it’s time for him to gain courage and ask Kun to hang out at Starbucks.

“Hey, Kun?” The boy looked up, his glasses slightly sliding down his nose.  
“I was wondering if you wanted to start on our project after school instead of waiting until Saturday?”

“Oh, sure! I can drive to your house—“

“I was thinking we could head to the Starbucks on 54th, like you suggested, remember?”

“Oh,” Kun shrunk. “Are you sure? Lee Minho works in there, you know?”

Johnny felt sad. “Yeah, I’m aware. I don’t really care, though. So? After school?” 

“Yeah, yeah, sure. What time? I think I have to drive Doyoung to his orthodontist appointment after school, sorry.” 

“No worries, can I have your number, though? Incase I need to call you.” 

“O-okay, sure.” Kun opened his contact list for Johnny as he did the same for Kun. 

“There. Now if we ever lose each other, we can just call.” Johnny said and Kun smiled.  
They completed their worksheets together and Johnny offered to walk Kun to his next class, which he happily agreed to. 

“Bye, Kun. I’ll see you after school.” Johnny said loud and proud. 

“See you!” Kun smiled and laid his back against the lockers. He had to tell the group chat. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Winwin gave Yuta a soft smile when he entered the classroom.

“Hi Yuta, how are you today?”

“I’m good, and you?” 

“I’m good. I can’t wait to go home and eat my mom’s cooking.”

Yuta smiled and heard as Ms. Clark said they’d be watching a video on toxic chemicals today. A student got up to flick two of the three lights off, basking the room in slight darkness.

The class wasn’t really paying attention. Yuta heard Winwin laugh from next to him. His curiosity gaining the better of him caused him to sneak a glance at what was on his phone. 

It was a group chat titled ‘The Love Club,’ with people who recognized as Joy, Doyoung, Kun, and Ten all included. 

“Hey,” Yuta called softly. “Are you friends with Qian Kun?”

“Yeah, I am.” Winwin smiled. “He helped me out the first day I came here. Why? Does me being friends with him bother you?” Winwin’s brows furrowed.

“No, not at all. I just.. would’ve never guessed it.” 

“Why is that, Nakamoto?”  
Yuta was taken back at the use of his last name. 

“Nothing, it’s just.—,”

“I know how you think, Yuta. I didn’t need Joy to spell it out for me the first day I came.”  
Yuta shrunk under Winwin’s gaze. “You know, they’re no different than you and I.”

“I know that. I’ve just been.. stuck inside this stupid social norm bubble since middle school and I.. I’m only now realizing that it doesn’t matter. I held myself back from so many friendships because those people weren’t ‘cool’ in a sense. I feel like if I didn’t, I’d have way more friends than I do now.”  
And it was true. He only had Johnny, Seulgi, Taeyong, and Jaehyun. Everyone else grew out of their group or split ways.  
“I’m done letting it dictate who I am, Winwin.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If you want, you could meet all my friends one day.” He suggested.

“Yeah. I’d like that.” Yuta said and Winwin smiled so bright his teeth showed. They returned their attention back to the video, but Yuta didn't miss when Winwin snuck his hand between his own. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Ten was in the dance studio practicing freestyle moves. What he didn’t expect was Lee Taeyong to enter.

“Uh, hi?” Ten said.

“Hey.”

“There’s no meet today, you know? I just come here to practice.” Ten told the captain.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just.. wondering if you wanted to go to grab something to eat? And then I could drop you home afterwards?” Taeyong suggested.

Ten felt like he was going to pass out. “Uh, me?”

Taeyong laughed. “Well, there’s no other Ten, right?”  
Ten scratched the back of his head, but agreed anyway.  
Luckily he wasn’t sweaty, seeing as he just started. Taeyong helped him pack his bag and soon, they were out the door. 

“Do you have any place in mind?” Taeyong asked from his place in the drivers seat.

“Uh, not really? I know there’s a good ramen place nearby.”

“That’s fine. We’ll head there.” Ten nodded and laid his head against the window, singing along softly to the song playing on the radio. At least he thought he was singing softly.  
“Wow, Ten, you have a really great voice.”

Ten jumped and blushed at that.  
“Th-thanks, but I really don’t.”

“Yeah you do, you could give the singing team a run for their money.” Ten laughed softly.

“Thank you, Taeyong. I appreciate it.” And Ten really did. 

Taeyong parked the car and held the door open for Ten when they arrived at the ramen diner. 

“So, what do you usually get here?” Taeyong said as he grabbed the menu from the table, taking his time to once over it.

“Taeyong, why are you doing this?” Ten sounded sad.

“Wh-what do you mean?” Taeyong asked, putting down the menu to look at Ten across the booth. 

“I mean, why are you suddenly taking interest in me? I’ve been on the dance team since sophomore year and now we’re seniors. I don’t know, it just all seems foreign to me.” Ten crossed his arms over his chest.

Taeyong sighed. “You know you’re the one who helped us win the dance competition that year, right?” Ten nodded. “We hadn’t won any competition since the dance team started before you came.”  
Oh, Ten didn’t know that.  
“To be honest, I didn’t really remember you.” Just as Ten thought. “But Johnny reminded me of who you were, and I just couldn’t get you out my head. I want us to.. I want us to be friends, Ten. If that’s okay with you?”

“You better not be playing any tricks on me, Lee Taeyong.” Ten narrowed his eyes.

“N-no, I swear, I’m not. I swear.” 

“Okay. Fine. We can be friends.” Ten smiled so beautiful, Taeyong felt his insides melt.

“Are you ready to order?” the waiter came up to their table. 

“Yes please, I’ll have the soy sauce flavored ramen with green onions and cilantro.” Ten said.

“And you, sir?” the waiter diverted their attention to Taeyong.

“I’ll have what he’s having, thanks.” 

“Great, your meal will be right out.” they grabbed the menu’s and headed to the back to place their orders.

Taeyong and Ten chatted and bonded over their food once it came. When they were finished, the waiter came back.

“Will this be on one check or separate?” 

“One.” The both said at the same time. 

“I’ll pay.” Ten said.

“No, I’ll pay.” Taeyong insisted. Taeyong won in the end because he can get very annoying when he starts whining. 

“Thank you for that.” Ten smiled when they exited the diner.

“No problem, it was my pleasure.”  
Taeyong opened Ten’s car door and asked him for the directions back to his place. 

“This is it.” Ten said as they pulled up to his house. “Thanks for the meal and the ride home.” Ten smiled. “It was great.” 

“It was, wasn’t it? We can do it again on Saturday.”

“Oh, we don’t have to.” Ten blushed. “I thought we were going to your house?”  
“We are, but who said we couldn’t go out and about?” 

“Right, right. Well, thanks again, Taeyong” Ten reached for the door and hesitated. He quickly turned around and placed a sweet kiss to Taeyong’s cheek. “Bye, see you tomorrow!” Ten ran into his house as quick as possible. 

Taeyong blushed and placed his fingers over when Ten’s lips just were.  
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Taeyong smiled and said to no one. He started his car back up and drove home with a smile on his face. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Doyoung was waiting for Kun at the school gates. He wasn’t out yet, so he lingered around the area. He didn’t wanna be late for his appointment, and afterwards he had to meet Jaehyun at Barnes and Noble. 

A honk scared him from his place. He turned around to see Jaehyun looking at him from his place in his car.

“Hey, what’re doing out here?” 

“Uhm, I’m.. I’m just waiting for Kun to drop me to my orthodontist appointment.” 

“Why don’t I just take you?” Doyoung was shocked.

“Wh-what? I don’t wanna bother you, I can wait for Kun—,”

“Nonsense! Come on, after it’s done we can go to Barnes and Noble, yeah?”  
Doyoung was conflicted, but ended up choosing Jaehyun’s option in the end. He quickly texted Kun telling him not to bother, Jaehyun was taking him.

He got a thumbs up text and winky face in reply, Kun also telling him he had a study session with Johnny in Starbucks. Doyoung smiled showing his teeth and texted Kun a bunch of hearts in reply.

“So, what do orthodontists usually do to your braces?” Jaehyun asked.  
_Of course he didn’t know, because he was Jaehyun, and Jaehyun was perfect and born with naturally straight teeth._

“Uh, they can tighten the braces or change the wires. It all depends on my progress. They said I was supposed to get them off last month, but of course they delayed it.” Doyoung pouted and Jaehyun internally cooed. 

They pulled up at Doyoung’s orthodontist and Doyoung told Jaehyun he could come if he wanted to. Doyoung signed in and was taken into the back room right away. Jaehyun sat down and watched the television program playing from one of the TV’s. 

“Are you a new friend of Doyoung’s? I’ve never seen you here before, he usually comes with Ten, Joy, or Kun.” A kind lady sitting from the front desk said. 

“Uh, yeah. My name is Jaehyun and you are?”

“I’m Michelle, it’s nice to meet you.” _So, this is Jaehyun_ , she thought. 

“You as well. How long has Doyoung had braces?”  
“He’s been with us for about a year and a half. I’m sure he’s sick of us and wants to get rid of the train tracks already.” She laughed. 

“I think so, too.” Jaehyun said, recalling Doyoung’s pout in the car. “I think he looks cute with them, though.”

“Oh, isn’t he just adorable. He always says he looks like a nerd, but we all think he looks handsome.” Jaehyun couldn’t agree more. He was sad that Doyoung thought of himself as a nerd though. There was nothing wrong with it, but is that all Doyoung thought he was? A nerd? 

Doyoung walked out from the back room. “It was quick today, Michelle.” Doyoung said. He chose pink this time. “What do you think?” He smiled wide showing off his new color.

“It’s so cute, Doyoung! Wait until that crush of yours sees!”

“Michelleeee,” Doyoung dragged out, feeling embarrassed. “I’ll see you in two weeks.” 

“Alright darling, you go out and be safe. It was nice to meet you, Jaehyun!”

“You too, Ms. Michelle.” Jaehyun waved and held the door open for Doyoung. 

Doyoung settled back into the passenger seat, feeling awkward.  
They were driving for a couple of minutes and Jaehyun pulled up to Barnes and Noble.

They found a table near the windows, settling down and pulling out their textbooks. 

“Pink, huh?” Jaehyun broke the silence. 

“Y-yeah,” Doyoung scratched his ear, feeling nervous. “I-I like it, but i-it’s silly, I know. I should have chosen orange or something.” He said defeated.

“No, I like it. It’s cute. Braces suit you really well.” Jaehyun said.

“Y-you think so?” Jaehyun nodded. “I always think they make me look stupid. And ugly.” 

“What? No way, Doyoung. You look adorable with them. Why do you think that?” 

“Jeon Wonwoo tells me that, so it must be true. He’s cool and popular, you know?” Doyoung pushed his glasses up his nose.

Jaehyun felt anger surge through him. Wait until he gives Jeon a piece of his mind.  
“Well, Jeon Wonwoo is a total asshat and doesn’t know what he’s saying because you look cool _and hot_.” 

“O-oh,” Doyoung smiled and giggled. There was that smile that Jaehyun adored so much. “T-thank you. The only people who really like my braces are Joy, Ten, Winwin, and Kun.” 

“Well, you can add me to that list too.” Jaehyun smiled.

“Will do. Now, let’s get started shall we?” Doyoung said and away they began with their work.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Johnny and Kun sorted a whole plan for their project. Kun was helping with dinner since Seulgi’s mom offered him and Joy to stay over for dinner. Kun was cutting lettuce and accidentally sliced his hand. 

“Ouch!” Kun said as he saw blood well up. 

“Are you okay?” Johnny rushed over. 

“Yeah, just a small cut.” It didn’t look like a small cut. Johnny took Kun to the bathroom and made him sit on the counter. 

“You have to be more careful, Kun.” Johnny said as he cleaned the wound and wrapped his hand with bandages.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“What were you even paying attention to anyway?”

“You.” Kun blurted. He turned red when he realized he didn’t say that in his head. “I-I-I mean—,” 

“Funny. Because you were all I was paying attention to as well.” Johnny said and placed his lips on Kun’s. Kun didn’t move at first, too shocked to do anything. He slowly relaxed and reciprocated the kiss.

Seulgi bursted in causing the two to pull apart. “I knew it! Joy, you owe me $20!”

“What?” Joy joined Seulgi in the doorway. “I thought you’d wait at least another weekend, Kun!”

“Wh-what? H-he kissed me!”

“Whatever, I’m happy for you two idiots.” Joy smiled and shut the door, her hand in Seulgi’s.  
Johnny just shrugged and went back to kissing Kun.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Taeyong and Ten were actually rehearsing a couples dance. Taeyong broke it to him on Saturday. 

“That’s why I told you I wanted the best _dancer._ ” Taeyong told him.

“Why didn’t you choose Eunwoo, then?” Ten questioned.

“Did I stutter when I said best?” Taeyong held out his hand. Ten blushed and placed his small hand in Ten’s long one. Together they came up with a routine. When they were both satisfied, they took a small break. 

“Hey, that’s my gatorade.” Ten said.

“Mine now.” Taeyong replied.

Ten wrestled the boy for the bottle, laughing at his failed attempts.  
Ten somehow ended up on top of Taeyong, staring into his eyes. 

“H-hi.” Taeyong stuttered.

“Hi.” Ten replied.

Taeyong, gaining courage, slowly leaned in to kiss him. His lips were soft and sweet, just like candy.

“Still want that gatorade?” Taeyong asked when they pulled back. Ten laughed and hit his chest playfully. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Winwin introduced Yuta to all his friends on Monday, during lunch. It seemed as though the whole table migrated over to where The Love Club sat. 

Yuta was smiling and laughing to a joke Ten made. Joy was feeding Seulgi pringles. Kun was showing Johnny a magic trick. Taeyong and Winwin were teaching each other phrases in their mother tongues.

Doyoung and Jaehyun were sitting shoulder to shoulder, talking about A Darker Shade of Magic. Jaehyun bought a copy while they were in Barnes and Noble and loved it. Jaehyun watched as Doyoung’s face lit up when he mentioned his favorite parts from the book. Jaehyun was happy. He didn’t care about what others thought. He had Doyoung and that was all he needed. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It had been a couple of weeks since Mr. Choi’s last math test and Jaehyun was improving tremendously. Doyoung was very proud. The next test was coming up during Prom season. 

He checked over the mock exam he gave Jaehyun which he got a 85% on. 

“You keep this up and you won’t need me anymore.” Doyoung laughed.  
Jaehyun stared at Doyoung.  
“What?” Doyoung asked.

“I’ll always need you, Doyoung.” Jaehyun pushed Doyoung’s glasses up his nose. “Always.” 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It was Prom season. Seulgi asked Joy in a total extravagant way with balloons and confetti during their lunch period. Of course, Joy said yes. 

Yuta asked Winwin, with the help of Kun, in Mandarin. Winwin laughed and agreed happily through tears. 

Johnny attempted to ask Kun out with a magic trick, which failed terribly. Kun said yes anyway. 

Taeyong took Ten back to where they had their first date. Taeyong had gotten the alphabet soup to spell out ‘Prom?’  
Ten squealed and jumped into Taeyong’s arms, chanting ‘Yes’, over and over again. 

Doyoung was happy for all his friends. He just wished a certain someone would ask him too. 

Doyoung went into the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream. He was planning to wallow in his hole of sadness, before his doorbell rang.  
That couldn’t be any member of The Love Club, they all had plans with their dates before Prom. It couldn’t be his mother either, she has a key.  
Doyoung placed his ice cream and spoon down and opened the door. What he didn’t expect to see was Jung Jaehyun, standing in front of his door, out of breath holding a paper. 

“Doyoung, you won’t believe it! I got a 90% on Choi’s exam!” 

“Jaehyun, I’m so proud of you! That’s amazing!” Doyoung said, smiling so wide, his braces were showing.  
Jaehyun didn’t care as he picked Doyoung up and hugged him in circles. When he placed him down, the two were nose to nose. 

“I also have something I wanted to ask you.” Jaehyun said. He showed Doyoung his test paper with the big letter ‘A’ on front. Doyoung looked confusedly up at Jaehyun. There was nothing there besides the ‘A’.  
“Turn it over.” 

Doyoung’s breath hitched as he saw the word, ‘Prom?’ written in red ink. He looked up to Jaehyun who had a hopeful look on his face as he produced a slightly crushed red rose from his pocket. 

“I-I looked it up. The red rose represents love, passion, beauty, courage, and respect. Which you all represent. So, Kim Doyoung, what do you say? Prom?” 

“Yes. Yes. Yes!” Doyoung smiled and Jaehyun couldn’t help but kiss him. 

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Jaehyun laughed and kissed him again. Doyoung held the test paper and rose in his hand as he kissed Jaehyun. There wasn’t anything more he could ask for. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Ten and Taeyong’s dance competition was the weekend before Prom. 

All their friends were there and cheered them on during their dance.

They won first place and the trophy is now hanging up in the show case call, displaying their names proudly. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Doyoung changed his braces to the color red. It matched the corsage Jaehyun bought him as well as his tie. Ten helped him get ready, dusting Doyoung’s face with blush and giving him red eyeliner. Taeyong was styling his hair, pushing back his hair back to reveal his forehead that was always hidden by his bangs. 

“You look amazing, Jaehyun is gonna freak!” Ten said happily and Taeyong agreed.

Jaehyun’s eyes widened as he landed his gaze on Doyoung.

“W-wow.” He stuttered out.

“See? I told you I do my work well. Now let’s go!” Ten exclaimed.

“Wait, wait,” Doyoung’s mom called. “We can’t forget pictures!” 

The four boys stood happily next to one another, smiles wide.  
“Just one more!” “Another!” “Okay, this is the last one.” All spilled from Doyoung’s mother.

“Mooooommmm, we have to go.” Doyoung dragged. 

“Okay, okay, alright! Have fun and be safe! Call me is anything goes wrong, I love you.” 

“Love you too!” Doyoung and Ten replied. 

“What? Doyoung’s mom is also my mom. Now, let’s go. Party doesn’t start till I arrive!” Ten said. 

Jaehyun drove while having one hand in Doyoung’s, who was in the passenger seat. Taeyong and Ten seated in the back. Johnny was giving Kun, Seulgi, Joy, Yuta, and Winwin a ride. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  
Joy and Seulgi were crowned Prom King and Queen. 

“We have our prom king and queen, everyone. This one is for all my couples, make your way to the dance floor!” the DJ said into the mic.

Open Arms by Journey splurged through the speakers.  
Doyoung gently swayed with Jaehyun, his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder. 

“Doyoung,” Jaehyun pulled back to look into his eyes. “I love you.”  
Doyoung began to cry. “I love you too, Jaehyun.” Doyoung kissed Jaehyun, while their friends around them cheered. 

Jaehyun didn’t care about what the football team would think. His life was back on track and he had all the love he needed right here. He was happy. They all were.

**Author's Note:**

> did y'all like it?  
> ^____^
> 
> [ pls do not repost my work anywhere at ALL ]  
> [tenofnct](https://twitter.com/tenofnct/)


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